An (unauthorized) retrospective guide to the Feminine Celestial Empire.
Welcome to the Aristasian Reminiscence Project! What’s Aristasia? Goodness, I’m not quite sure even where to begin, and yet… that’s the topic of this site, is it not?
You can find a map of this entire site here. To begin, one must be clear that Aristasia no longer exists as a movement as far as I’m aware. Aristasia was often said to be many things, amongst which one finds:
Are any of these characterizations even remotely accurate, though? Many have been presented and pushed heavily, by tabloid sources, legitimate media and researchers, and even by Aristasians themselves. You’ll all have to ultimately draw your own conclusions. Via this site, perhaps I can gain and provide some clarity to the topic, though.
In theory, the "meaning" of Aristasia should be fairly clear-cut - they are essentialists, after all. Alas, it isn't so, and hours can be spent puzzling over the real meaning of this or that fact of Aristasian life.
TVtropes's page on Aristasia
The movement's history is complicated; so far, I've only covered a a small part of it, but I recommend reading about the group's origins there. You can also check out the page about Aristasian beliefs, then head to the page about Aristasian life. Be sure to read the Storm Clouds page, focusing on the massively problematic aspects entwined with Aristasia during its existence.
Other parts of interest might include the section on the lore surrounding Aristasia, or the page of essays and audio lectures produced by Aristasians over the years. I do encourage you to read the page about this site itself to better understand my perspective. Please visit the changelog for regular updates on this strange endeavor. To visit, and (one might hope?) follow this site on Neocities, click here.
Call me Claire Mayhew. I never quite considered myself Aristasian, and never met any Aristasians in person. I was first exposed to Aristasia as a thirteen-year-old looking for LGBTQ resources online. I was able to participate and lurk their various forums and chatrooms because I childishly lied about my age. They would likely have never spoken to me had this not been the case. I posted rarely using several different names, some of which I don't even remember, almost always just to ask questions.
Later, when I became an adult, I had an Aristasian persona in Second Life for roleplay ("life theatre", they call it) back in the late aughts, and attended parties, lectures, and church services there. I guess that I counted as an outer-circle Aristasian-in-Telluria? Unsure here.
Either way, this site has no connection whatsoever to the so-called "Old Guard" Aristasians or later Chelouranyans, and is in no way endorsed by them. Aristasia as a movement no longer exists online, and nor does Chelouranya.
I'm also not a Filianist nor affiliated with any Déanic groups, though I appreciate what those groups are doing to preserve Aristasian material while investigating the unsavory parts.
As of March of 2024-ish, I've noticed that this site has inspired renewed interest in Aristasia and its precursor groups. I'm not affiliated with any other sites about Aristasia, though, and while anyone is welcome to ask questions, please note that I've no interest in reviving this.
You can contact me here. Oh, and for whatever reason or perhaps precisely none at all, we've now got a small chatbox below where one may leave a short, public message if you happen to wander into this corner of the web. Consider signing and leaving a mark.
Other sites on neocities are doing them, and this seems a good way of doing it as any. Given everything that has come to light about Aristasia, and especially the precursor groups, their participants, and some of what transpired, do you think it prudent to change the theme of this site to something more sedate?
Initially when I created this site, I was gadding about a bit, high on the memories of swishing around Second Life in fancy frilly gowns… perhaps that was unwise. Is it really appropriate to maintain a site about such (frankly) bizarre and (at times) downright disturbing subject matter that looks… like this? Please vote to the left!